YIKES!! Celexa question!!

Oh WOW. I just took my first dosage of Celexa about three hours ago. I didn't think something like that worked so quickly??? I figured I had at least half a day to get chores done, then could nap through worst of it. No, no, no... didn't work that way. I think I'm half stoned..lol. Every part of my body feels like there is a weight dragging it down, hard to move arm to pick up glass, etc. I know the doc said I'd be a little tired, but YIKES.. this is beyond tired. I find myself just staring at things, or off into space...really reaching to try to put readable thoughts here.

Is this normal? Please, please, please tell me this will go away in a few days. I really want the benefit of the med, but would like to function as a human and not a lump in a chair!!! What is better.. get up and do my darndest to  push through this, or rest?

Oh...good point, the pill didn't come straight back up from my tummy..which is always a danger with me.

Hey there, What is your dose, 10 mg?  If you continue to feel this way you may want to check with your physician.  The tabs are not scored are they?

Hopefully someone on Celexa will be here shortly to help you out with your question. I agree that Lexapro and Celexa are very similiar.

Take care. :)

I'm on 10mg and will probably stay here. I have a very low tolerance to medications, and my doc and I like to keep doses as low as possible for me. Yesterday was pretty horrid, I was fighting all day to stay lucid. I didn't have any other side effects except for the horrible lethargy and feeling like every limb was lead and hard to move. I'm surprised my stomach didn't act up on me.

I just took todays dosage, so hopefully.. maybe... it will be a little tiny bit better!!

Hello,

After trying several different SSRI's and a few of the old Trycyclics, a psychiatrist I began seeing about 2 years ago, put me on Celexa.  Like you, I am extremely sensitive to medications, especially the SSRI meds.  I started out at 5 mg and stayed there for nearly a month.  He was very patient and said we need to get it up to about 40 mg for the full benefit, but he said he would take as much time as I needed and felt comfortable with to get there.

Increasing very slow and gradually was the key for me.  I didn't notice any side effects at all.  In the past I tried Prozac, Paxil, Amytriptylene, Lexapro, and Noritryptyline and they were really rough. 

Important note about Celexa, and you can look this information up on the net, it is considered to be the most highly selective SSRI ( zeroing in on Serotonin without affecting the other neurotransmitters as much ), but not nearly as potent as some of the others, if that makes sense.  I believe Paxil is the most potent in the group. 

 I do also take Klonopin..... half mg a day...and that probably helped get me through the initial activating feelings that SSRI's can cause.  It took about 6 months, but I got to 40 mg and after about two months on that, the panic symptoms dissapeared and for me, I never experienced a side effect other than slight sedation.   Sensitivity to these meds is a common problem with panic disorder patients from what he told me.  With that said, Celexa is not for everyone.  Two SSRI's of choice that seem to offer very low starting dosages, and a wide range of doses are Zoloft and Celexa.  

We all respond different to these meds and one may work great for one person and not so much for the next.  Celexa was the only one that worked for me. 

Hope some of this helps and hope you get to feeling better.   

. 

I tried to take Lexapro first---had really bad reaction to it (the kind where I thought I was dying, dreaming about my funeral, wake up shaking from anxiety, felt trapped in my house, etc..)---I was taking 10 mg's to start.

After telling my MD about it---he suggested Celexa---I didn't have the tired effect---I had the opposite--super wide-awake at night-----but, had panicky thoughts--shaking (muscles constricting, etc.), very weepy--kept a lot of physical pain, etc........I started on 10 mg, then moved up to 20mg. I thought---"it's just a side effect----be patient" Well, I couldn't after three weeks---that is when I went into my MD and told him about all of the pains I was (still am) experiencing in my sternum/back area ---and he thought maybe I gave myself an ulcer (although we haven't done any tests yet---still can't in to see a GI).

So, I stopped the Celexa----for now. I take Klonopin (.5 mg) as needed---but, I am afraid of Klonopin---I don't want to be "addicted"---so I take that sparingly!

I am confused b/c I want to take something for my anxiety-----but, I heard the Lexipro and Celexa have the least side effects of the SSRI's---and I had side effects I didn't like AT ALL! I am thinking that after I get some answers on my physical pains (or if they are all negative)---then, I can start Celexa or something else with a different thought on it (b/c I am hung up on my physical pains I am feeling).....................

thank you Lyn---- I am hoping to find the right med too! ;)